X-ray systems are commonly used in the medical field to assist medical professionals in diagnosing ailments in patients. It is known that the hardware required for taking an X-ray includes an X-ray source and a detector. Although the need for these two fundamental components remains constant, throughout the years the components have evolved.
Originally it was known to use one standard size detector for any given X-ray system and the detector utilized film to capture the image. One disadvantage of this system resulted in the patient potentially being exposed to more radiation than necessary during any given X-ray since the size of the detector could not be changed. Yet another disadvantage of this type of system is that the film needed to be processed to be useful which resulted in a time consuming endeavor.
Now, it is known to use digital X-ray detectors. The digital detector is hard-wired to a computer system where the results are digitally fed into a computer system and read on a monitor. This results in a faster final product, but the size of the detector remains constant.
The newest X-ray technology includes wireless digital detectors. These systems are capable of utilizing various sized wireless detectors that can be used with a single X-ray source. This technology is still in its infancy, so users are struggling with how to efficiently use this type of system both from a hardware perspective and an information processing perspective. While it is advantageous to have flexibility in the size detector used for any given X-ray, a disadvantage of this type of wireless system is that it is time consuming for the X-ray technician to evaluate the type of X-ray being taken, determine which detector is the optimal size to use, and which detector is charged and available for use. Additionally, it is time consuming to identify studies that are being performed for particular types of X-ray data obtained and associate the obtained data with the identified studies.